# New Orleans: map, what to do and when to go

In New Orleans, houses and tombs sit above ground because half the city is below sea level. It is a Creole port in the Mississippi delta, founded by the French in 1718, where jazz and the biggest street party in the United States were born.

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nova-orleans/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **New Orleans: where can you hear live music outside Bourbon Street?** The real live music is on Frenchmen, in Tremé, at Tipitina's in Uptown, at Chickie Wah Wah in Mid-City and at the Sunday second lines announced on WWOZ 90.7 FM.
- **New Orleans: how much does the taxi from the airport to downtown cost?** The taxi charges a flat rate to downtown and the French Quarter: about $36 for one or two people and about $15 per person for three or more, which makes the ride pricier for groups.
- **New Orleans: how far is the Whitney Plantation?** The Whitney Plantation is about 90 km upriver along River Road, 1 hour by car.

## The Vieux Carré, the river, and a first night of music
Get to Café du Monde at 8am, ahead of the line, for three beignets and a café au lait with chicory, for about US$9.
- Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral
- Cabildo and Presbytère
- Frenchmen Street
- The Algiers ferry and the steamboat Natchez

## Uptown by streetcar and the 20th century in the Warehouse District
Catch the green streetcar on St. Charles at Canal (US$1.25) and get off at Washington Avenue, 20 minutes later.
- National WWII Museum
- St. Charles Avenue streetcar

## Tremé, Mid-City and neighborhood music
Start at Congo Square, inside Louis Armstrong Park, and walk to the Backstreet Cultural Museum in Tremé, which holds Mardi Gras Indian suits.
- Preservation Hall
- Congo Square, in Louis Armstrong Park

## Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nova-orleans/#g-lugar-jackson-square
Nova Orleães · Up to half an hour
The 1721 parade ground, converted into a garden in 1851, with the 1856 equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson. The current cathedral was built between 1789 and 1794 and gained its central towers in 1850; it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic cathedral in the United States.
Check access

## Cabildo and Presbytère
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nova-orleans/#g-lugar-cabildo
Luisiana
The two Spanish colonial buildings flanking the cathedral, today home to the Louisiana State Museum. It was in the Cabildo's second-floor hall that the transfer of Louisiana to the US was signed on December 20, 1803; the Presbytère houses the permanent exhibit on Hurricane Katrina.
Check access

## National WWII Museum
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nova-orleans/#g-lugar-national-wwii-museum
Luisiana · Half a day or more
Opened on June 6, 2000, on the initiative of historian Stephen Ambrose, because the Higgins landing craft used at Normandy were designed and built in the city. It occupies five pavilions in the Warehouse District; set aside half a day and buy your ticket online (about US$36).
Check access

## St. Charles Avenue streetcar
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nova-orleans/#g-lugar-bonde-da-st-charles-avenue
Nova Orleães
Opened in 1835 as the New Orleans & Carrollton Railroad, it's the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world. The green wooden cars are Perley Thomas models from 1923–24, with no air conditioning, and cover 13 km between Canal Street and Carrollton in about 50 minutes.
Check access

## City Park and the art museum (NOMA)
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nova-orleans/#g-lugar-city-park
Nova Orleães · One to two hours
A park of about 5.3 km², bigger than Central Park, with one of the largest concentrations of centuries-old live oaks in the world. NOMA dates from 1911, and the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden next door has free admission and about 90 outdoor works.
Check access

## St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nova-orleans/#g-lugar-cemiterio-st-louis-no-1
Nova Orleães · Up to half an hour
Opened in 1789, with masonry tombs above ground because of the high water table and the heat, which turn a crypt into a natural kiln. Since 2015 entry has required a licensed guide or an archdiocese tour; the tomb attributed to Marie Laveau is near the entrance.
Check access

## Preservation Hall
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nova-orleans/#g-lugar-preservation-hall
Luisiana
A room opened in 1961 on St. Peter Street, dedicated to traditional jazz: no bar, no air conditioning, about 100 seats, with much of the audience standing. There are three to four sets of about 45 minutes each per night; buy online, since the door line rarely gets in.
Check access

## Frenchmen Street
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nova-orleans/#g-lugar-frenchmen-street
Nova Orleães · One to two hours
Three blocks in the Marigny with a dozen music venues: The Spotted Cat, d.b.a., Snug Harbor, Blue Nile. Most have no cover charge: the band lives on the tip bucket that circulates between songs.
Check access

## Congo Square, in Louis Armstrong Park
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nova-orleans/#g-lugar-congo-square-no-louis-armstrong
Nova Orleães · Up to half an hour
A square where, under the French Code Noir and later under Spanish rule, enslaved people could gather on Sundays to drum, trade, and dance. It's the documented origin of the percussion that became jazz, and it still hosts drum circles on Sunday afternoons.
Check access

## The Algiers ferry and the steamboat Natchez
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nova-orleans/#g-lugar-balsa-de-algiers
Up to half an hour
The Canal Street ferry crosses the Mississippi in about 10 minutes for about US$2 and is the cheapest way to see the city from the water. The Natchez, a sternwheel steamboat launched in 1975, runs two-hour cruises with a live steam calliope played before departure.
Check access

**New Orleans: where can you hear live music outside Bourbon Street?**
The real live music is on Frenchmen, in Tremé, at Tipitina's in Uptown, at Chickie Wah Wah in Mid-City and at the Sunday second lines announced on WWOZ 90.7 FM.

**New Orleans: how much does the taxi from the airport to downtown cost?**
The taxi charges a flat rate to downtown and the French Quarter: about $36 for one or two people and about $15 per person for three or more, which makes the ride pricier for groups.

**New Orleans: how far is the Whitney Plantation?**
The Whitney Plantation is about 90 km upriver along River Road, 1 hour by car.

**New Orleans: does the price tag already include tax?**
No: sales tax in Orleans is 10%, and reaches 11% in some special districts; it never shows up on the price tag or the menu.

**New Orleans: when is the best time to go?**
The best windows are February to May and mid-October to early December, with highs between 20 °C and 28 °C and bearable humidity.


## In the Nilo app
- Plan these 3 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/nova-orleans/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/nova-orleans/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/nova-orleans.md